Thinking about getting a new sporting rifle in the near future? Well, if you are, consider building it from an AR build kit rather than just going to the shop and buying a new rifle. There’s a time and place for that, but here are 8 of the best reasons to build your next AR rather than just buying a new rifle.
1. Beat the shortages
If you haven’t noticed the gun and ammo shortages or the skyrocketing prices of the past few years, start paying attention.
Building from an AR build kit may not entirely solve that problem, but it does open up an avenue for you as there is (somewhat) less demand for kits and parts than there is for assembled rifles.
Either way, you can capitalize on this by building your next rifle, especially if there is any aspect of it that you want to customize.
2. Learn how the gun works
You can’t build a whole rifle from an AR build kit without getting a crash course in how the whole thing works. A gas-impingement operated AR is a thing of mechanical beauty, with a lot of fine-tuned moving parts. Building a whole rifle, from the receiver(s) up is a great way to learn how all of the parts work together.
3. Learn how to make repairs, replacements and upgrades
Following on the heels of the former observation, if you build a rifle at home, you will be much better equipped to make repairs, upgrades or replacements. Knowing you need a new firing pin, that the gas rings on your BCG are worn out, or that your extractor needs to be replaced, is not the same thing as knowing how to access, remove and replace the part. Fortunately, building will prime you for that. It’s also a great springboard into making upgrades since you will necessarily need to know how to assemble the entire rifle.
4. Customize along the way
There is no better way to build a custom rifle than to build it with a receiver (or in the case of an AR, a lower and an upper) and an AR build kit. If you don’t like the barrel, handguard, BCG, buffer weights - or anything else - you can just get different parts and swap them out as you build the rifle. The best part is that if you do it this way, rather than just ordering a custom rifle, is that you’ll have the spare parts you swapped out if you ever need a replacement.
5. You will learn about other firearms platforms
Granted, all firearms are wildly unique, and there is a great deal of difference between a fully-automatic belt-fed machine gun and a flintlock. But there is also a lot in common with respect to basic firearm mechanics, and there are many other gas and recoil-operated semi-automatics out there that have enough in common with a basic AR that the knowledge and skills of assembly are transferable.
6. Enjoyment of the process
For whatever it’s worth, if you like working with your hands, or take great pride of ownership in what you use, then you will probably love building an AR from scratch for its own sake, and there’s not much you can do to replicate the experience.
7. Freedom of chambering
Tired of the racks of 5.56 ARs? Want to build one in a more niche chambering like .300 BLK or 7.62x39mm? Or perhaps you want a truly custom rifle in a much rarer chambering? You can pay hand over fist at a shop for a pre-made rifle, or you can get the parts and build it yourself, and have full control over the chambering, not to mention control over the other parts.
8. Build out your collection
Because who doesn’t need another sporting rifle in their collection, and this option lets you add one cost-effectively.
9. Because you can
This is self-explanatory. What other country on Earth will permit you to build your own rifle?
Builders Hack for Those Who Want to Save Time: Get an Assembled Upper
Even though this entire article is a vehement defense of building your AR from the ground up with an AR build kit, if you are looking for a way to save a little time, get an assembled upper and mate that to an AR lower parts kit. Most of the mechanical operation is going on in the lower, anyway, so you won’t miss out too much on that if you get an assembled upper to save a little time on the build.
Shop AR Build Kits Here
In the market for a new AR? Shop our AR build kits, AR lower parts kits, and assembled uppers, and if you have any questions about the project, or what we sell, get in touch with us directly at Sales@MCSGearup.com.